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- One Piece
- Toei Animation
16 'Ugly Duckling' Anime Characters Who Had Major Glow-Ups
Beauty is truly in the eyes of the beholder, but some anime characters are popular for their looks and attractiveness - even if they didn't begin their journeys that way. Whether it's because their looks weren't accepted by the people around them or maybe their glow-ups stem from a growing maturity, some anime characters get their looks over the course of the series. Let's highlight and celebrate some male and female anime characters whose looks become more appreciated by those around them before their series end.
Although what one might consider as beautiful and attractive changes from person to person, the characters mentioned on this list have their looks spotlighted by a majority of the anime community as well as the people in their shows. In some cases, as they start to feel more positively about themselves, they become more attractive. In other cases, the appearance upgrade comes from supernatural means, or from adulthood hitting them like a ton of bricks.
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Alvida - 'One Piece'
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- One Piece
- Toei Animation
Alvida never needed any encouragement when it came to her looks - she's been pretty confident since the first time her character pops up on screen. But when she eats the Smooth-Smooth Fruit, it causes everything to slide off of her body - including most of her body weight.
As a result, other One Piece characters and fans start seeing her the same way she's always seen herself.
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- 2
Palm Siberia - 'Hunter X Hunter'
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- Hunter x Hunter
- Madhouse
Palm Siberia is Knov's apprentice, and a Hunter in her own right. When she's first introduced, she looks like a character straight out of a horror movie - and she seems to enjoy terrifying people with her looks. However, she's able to dramatically alter her appearance when she goes out on a "date" with Gon, transforming herself into a cute and wholesome young woman. How such a dramatic transformation is even possible is an open question.
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- One Piece
- Toei Animation
When fans first meet Koby, he's a small, shy teen being pushed around by Alvida's crew. After being liberated by Luffy and confessing that his dream is to be a successful Marine, he parts ways with Luffy to train with the Marines and achieve his goal.
An intense amount of training under the watchful eye of Vice Admiral Garp not only changes his physique, but it completely switches the way he carries himself - going from a coward to a self-confident leader.
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Masamune Makabe - 'Masamune-kun's Revenge'
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- Masamune-kun's Revenge
- Silver Link.
Masamune Makabe's transformation is actually the main point of the series. After Aki Adagaki publically humiliates him when he confesses his love to her, he decides that he's going to get revenge. That revenge comes in the form of losing a ton of weight, buying cool clothes, and overall changing his whole look in the hopes of seducing Aki and then dumping her in the same manner that she turned him down.
What's interesting is that Masamune-kun's Revenge actually talks about how hard it was for him to lose the weight, an unusual take in a medium that often depicts weight loss as magic or instantaneous. While he's definitely depicted as better looking than before, the show implies that this may have come at a cost.
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- 5
Kae Serinuma - 'Kiss Him, Not Me'
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- Kiss Him, Not Me
- Brain's Base
In Kiss Him, Not Me, Kae Serinuma goes through an extreme - and slightly unbelievable - makeover. After something terrible happens in her favorite fictional franchise, she's inconsolable for an entire week and changes all her day-to-day behaviors. The result of her change of pace is a whole new look, featuring new clothes, hair, body shape, and… eyes? Hey, no one ever said extreme makeovers had to make sense.
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Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck - 'Bleach'
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- Bleach
- Studio Pierrot
Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck, also known as Nel Tu, is a sweet, good natured Arrancar who is a member of the Espada. While her personality remains childish, her body undergoes a major transformation. When viewers first meet Nel, she's an adorable, wide-eyed little girl. However, this isn't actually her true form - she was forcibly turned into a child through magical means. Eventually, she regains her grown up body, which is a stark contrast to say the least.
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Prompto Argentum - 'Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV'
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- Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV
- A-1 Pictures
Prompto, a member of Noctis' royal guard, spends his early adolescense carrying more weight than he's personally comfortable with. For this reason and others, he lacks the confidence he needs to make friends. Over the course of three years, he starts working out and dieting, as well as trying to make meaningful connections with other people. This process leads to him becoming a happy, attractive teenager, and a blindingly attractive adult.
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Yuri Katsuki - 'Yuri!!! on ICE'
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- Yuri!!! on ICE
- MAPPA
After performing poorly in an international skating competition, Yuri Katsuki stops exercising and starts binge-eating. As a result, when the series opens, his formerly athletic body is significantly chubbier than it once was.
Chubby Yuri was adorable, but he was also wildly depressed and lacking confidence in not only his skating skills, but himself as a person. When Victor - the man who Yuri idolizes and ends up falling in love with - helped him get ready for the next round of competitions, his body changed, but what made him truly attractive was his newfound confidence.
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Sung Jinwoo - 'Solo Leveling'
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- Solo Leveling
- A-1 Pictures
At the beginning of Solo Leveling, Jinwoo is just your average-looking guy. But when he's chosen as the Player of the System and is able to develop his strength beyond measures, his rank as a Hunter isn't the only thing that changes. He becomes more built, grows impressive muscles, and his new-found confidence alters his aura dramatically.
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As a little girl, Hinata is beyond adorable. Not only does her body change to become more womanly, she also gets a little bit more confident and willing to speak her mind - an attractive trait if there ever was one.
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- The Wallflower
- Nippon Animation
Sunako Nakahara is a natural beauty, but you wouldn't necessarily know that to look at her in the beginning of the series. She's a shut-in who sees herself as ugly and presents herself accordingly, dressing in sweats and covering her eyes with her hair. Eventually, she comes out of her shell with the help of her new housemates, who are tasked with turning her into a proper lady. The new look that she embraces by the end of the series is truly stunning.
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- Attack on Titan
- Wit Studio, MAPPA
Physically, Armin hasn't gone through a crazily dramatic change - he's gotten taller, and definitely a bit more defined as a result of age and working in the Survey Corps, but nothing out of the ordinary. His real glow-up comes from how he gains confidence within himself and his skills, utilizing his mental prowess to become one of the best in battle. Not only does he feel like an entirely different person, it's also reflected in the way he carries himself.
Ditching the bowl cut hairstyle probably helped a bit, too.
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Shinichi Izumi - 'Parasyte: The Maxim'
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- Parasyte: The Maxim
- Madhouse
Who would have thought that being infected by a parasite could make a person more attractive instead of less? That's what happens to Shinichi Izumi, an average-looking teenager whose appearance makes a drastic change for the better after an alien parasite who he calls Migi takes over his right hand. He becomes significantly stronger, his posture improves, his muscles grow, and overall appears to be a far more confident and powerful person.
Sure, part of what causes it is having his cells irrevocably altered by an invading force and also some serious emotional trauma, but that doesn't mean he doesn't look good.
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- 14
Mayoi Hachikuji - 'Monogatari'
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- Monogatari
- Shaft
Mayoi Hachikuji is a young ghost girl who spends all of Bakemonogari biting Araragi and intentionally mispronouncing his name while he makes weirdly lewd comments about her. Their acrimonious relationship still leads to a friendship. In fact, in a future season of Monogatari, Araragi travels back in time to prevent the event that led to Mayoi becoming a ghost in the first place. As a result, she grows up and becomes an attractive young woman.
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- Yu Yu Hakusho
- Studio Pierrot
Kurama is already a pretty good looking guy - he's arguably one of the most attractive people in all of Yu Yu Hakusho. But Kurama gets even more attractive when he transforms into his original demonic form, Yoko Kurama. Sure, he becomes violent and unstable to the point of being villainous, but look at that hair!
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- Tokyo Ghoul
- Studio Pierrot
Touka Kirishima was a lovely young lady at the start of the series, but as she gets older, she becomes a total knockout to the other characters. She changes her hairstyle, becomes curvier, and starts favoring a more feminine style of dress. Most of the cast of Tokyo Ghoul is gobsmacked by her increased attractiveness - but honestly, even if she'd retained her punk aesthetic, she'd still have been just as beautiful.
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